The humanitarian catastrophe in Pervomaisk
The story Olega Orlova, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Center “Memorial”, on the visit of defenders of the “Memorial” Human Rights Watch and the eastern regions of Ukraine.
City Pervomaisk in the Luhansk region of Ukraine on the degree of destruction reminds military Grozny. Such continuous destruction is not in Donetsk or Lugansk or in Debaltsevo and not even in Ilovaiskaya that during the summer fighting heavily shelled artillery.
I am a colleague of “Memorial” Yanom Rachinskim and Human Rights Watch researcher Tatyana Lokshina visited this city in late November.
Some districts of the city, located about fifty kilometers west of Lugansk, virtually wiped out blows Ukrainian artillery, the city is almost no more or less intact houses.
The same continuous destruction in the East of Ukraine, we have seen, perhaps, only in villages and Hryaschuvatoe Novosvitlivka located a few kilometers south-east of Lugansk. But there is “tried” LC artillery forces (possibly in conjunction with the Russian), when in August, beat out of them Ukrainian troops.
Center Pervomaysk built up high-rise buildings, but most of the residential areas consists of a single-storey private buildings. Before the war in 38801 people. People working in the six mines, w / d station three factories. The city operated 17 schools, two lyceum, college, medical school branch, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Donbass, Kharkiv Institute of Management branch. But all this was before the war.
In late July the Ukrainian troops approached the city, but met stiff resistance, and could not take it. A massive shelling of the city, continued in August. Most of the population fled the city, but, nevertheless, according to local residents, there were thousands of non-combatants civilians.
they could not in the worst days of shelling even get out of the cellars and bomb shelters, and water was brought to the militia, otherwise many would die of thirst. The dead were buried in the yards of homes. Local authorities reported that during July and August attacks killed nearly 700 civilians. Check this figure is not yet possible, but all of our interlocutors from among ordinary citizens, too, we were talking about hundreds killed. At the commandant Pervomaisk (he is the mayor, appointed by armed men who control the city), your computer has a terrible selection of photos taken then. At the same time the militia had, and still have their positions right in the city, and not only on the outskirts. Thus they provoked Ukrainian forces in strikes on the city. This, however,
After the conclusion of September 5 Minsk Agreement there was a lull, and the people, who in at least in some form survived housing, in September and October started to come back.
According to various estimates now Pervomaisk is from 10 to 20 thousand. Civilians. People “drank a dashing” in a foreign country, they ran out of money, they were hoping to somehow spend the winter at home. Began to repair destroyed – on the houses made visible “patch”.
But in November, again resumed strikes on the city, but not so intense as in the summer. We spoke to the hospital staff, who in November 15 hit a mine (another five minutes exploded next to the building). At that time, there was one preterm 7-month-old girl. Doctors say that she miraculously survived. During our visit to the hospital after repair disinfected. But under the supervision of doctors in the city are four pregnant women who, apparently, will give birth here.
We spoke to the woman who lives in a multi-storey house, in which November 18 was hit by explosions.
Then there were no casualties – not all apartments inhabited by people, and those who live to hear that the shelling started, managed to escape the cellar. But when the next morning repair team started to eliminate the consequences of the shelling, there was a new fire, and one worker was killed.
We were shown a few one-storey houses destroyed on November 23 as a result of the impact of the “Castle”.
During shelling densely people crowd into a bomb shelter during the shelling of our visit was not there huddled his permanent residents who already live nowhere.
In many homes, no electricity, no gas, no water. In these conditions occurring in the cold can not live. But somewhere there is electricity, somewhere there is a gas. They come with interruptions due to destructive attacks. But even in these difficult circumstances repair teams to somehow patch up destroyed, renewable supply of life-giving power and heat. They did not lack the basic necessities – slate, plywood, wires, film in order to tighten the window – the majority of glass has long departed. Without these materials, even slightly damaged houses one after another, beginning to get wet through or freeze solid.
The building of a hospital destroyed.
In other doctors continue to work.
Where the boiler is not destroyed, homes have even warm (very weak) battery.
We spoke with a woman working in a boiler room. It can even wash it with warm water. But her very elderly parents live with her in an apartment on the eighth floor, it is difficult to go down and then climb back – the elevator is no longer working. Therefore, they practically do not go out of the apartment where muddle through boiler operating temperature is maintained at about 10 degrees. Water does not flow upward, and flows from the tap only in the basement, where tenants drag it to the upper floors in buckets.
All working people do not get paid, work for free, in the hope of someday in the future to get at least part of the debt. However, as said one of the local armed Cossacks, they “sometimes it is necessary to stimulate the MOE-nicks and workers” Ambulance “by shooting at his feet.”
The worst thing – the city sorely lacking food. Although the city has a few shops, so many people to purchase just have no money left.
City authorities in the face of the commandant Mayor Yevgeny Ishchenko, Cossack and his associates tried to somehow maintain the life of the city. They organized six dining rooms, each with a daily one once a day at about three hundred people are fed free lunches.
Someone is literally saved from death by starvation. It is planned to open four more table. On the streets every day for older people handing out free bread.
But grocery stores, which we have shown, food is running out. Inventories somehow replenished only with the help of some Russian businessmen.
From the authorities of the Russian LC-food humanitarian convoy arrived in the city once – in July. Then the city brought 10,000 grocery bags – 1 kg rice, 1 kg of buckwheat, three canning jars. In November, the school (7 functions, 2 really work), hospital staff, emergency workers and “First Aid” in Lugansk allocated monthly ration, followed by the need to travel to Lugansk. Building materials in general have never acted in the city.
When we talked about the situation with the local militia fighters, they simply “gnashed their teeth”, referring to the “power of Lugansk.” According to them, the lack of Russian humanitarian aid flows from Lugansk, it is a conscious policy umoreniya hunger and cold Pervomaisk and other areas with the Cossack self-government.
The fact that the city of Pervomaisk, Kirov, Stakhanov, Bryanka under the control of armed groups that have declared themselves “Cossack units” and then set out to build a “real democracy.”
“We are not separatists in relation to the People’s Republic of Lugansk. Look – here are two flags hanging near: LC flag, but at the same time and our flag of the Don Cossacks. Let them sit in Lugansk unelected, but simply appointed by Carpenter. Around it is full of people from the mafia. But here we have, we do not want to tolerate the mafia. During this Lugansk and us, and the population of our cities punishes, not here directing humanitarian assistance “, – explained to us fighters” Cossack militia. ” By the way, all the armed men in the Day, which we were able to speak, were the locals. Naturally, we can not exclude the fact that among the volunteers there are people who came to the war from Russia, but we have not met such.
Just when we were in the Day, from Russia to the eastern regions of Ukraine moved the eighth humanitarian convoy. On his return to Moscow, we have learned that nothing out of this escort in Pervomaisk been received.
We appealed to the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia and in the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation. We hope that the Russian authorities still use their influence to encourage the authorities of self-proclaimed LNR direct some humanitarian aid coming in their order of our country, those most in need – in Pervomaisk.
Sourse, 12/12/2014
